It seems like they always try everything possible to keep TAR from succeeding. Typically summer shows don't do very well.

04-02-2004, 08:46 PM

Art

-- I think its going to be weird having TAR on a Tuesday night. Its just so early in the week and not what I'm used to! Its always been on a Wednesday night (by itself, for my viewing) and last season it was on Thursday.
-- I'm also not thrilled with it sharing the same night as Big Brother (although it will be good for them cause it might boost ratings), TAR was always the ONLY show I would watch in one evening and those days were VERY exciting! But now I have Big Brother to go along with it. I think it'd be hard for me to switch from Big Brother-mode to TAR mode. I sometimes get stressed after these shows and need to come on the boards and vent.
-- And I think 10pm (9 here) is a bit late to be airing TAR...don't they want to increase ratings!???
-- And lastly...of course...I am NOT at all thrilled with Allison Irwin being on TAR. Um okay... Obviously a ratings booster, which could work, but TAR has always been the classier of shows and I'm just concerned that TAR5 won't live up to TAR 1-4.

And maybe if we are luckily TAR6 will begin Sept 29 or October 6th...if we are lucky...

if it gains momentum...and esp if it wins an emmy for TAR4...CBS should have another season ready to hit the grill

I doubt that CBS would premiere a sixth season of "Race" immediately after the fifth season concludes. My own personal opinion...if "Race" does well enough to warrant renewal for another season, I would imagine spring 2005 or another summer run would be more likely. One big reason is that CBS has been successful in terms of prime-time line-up stability and will likely only made modest changes in the fall. That fact alone would cut down on the potential time slots for "Race" to air. Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays all look to be off the table. That would only leave Wednesdays. Do we really want "Race" to become the latest victim of "American Idol" or "Law & Order"? By waiting until spring 2005, a programming hole may open up for "Race" to fill. (My own personal idea would be for CBS to dump its Sunday movie franchise in mid-year and replace it with "Race" and a to-be-determined series).

Perhaps CBS wants to build a summer stable of reality series to air every year (having "BB" and "Race" airing for two consecutive summers). Although, I would prefer that "Race" inherit the "Survivor" slot, by airing on Tuesdays, the burden is put on "BB" to deliver in that hyper-competitive slot. Besides, Tuesdays look to be less stressful for "Race". Unless NBC and ABC air new series, the biggest competition would be reruns of "NYPD Blue" and "Law & Order: SVU". Being the only first-run show in a time slot will help "Race", and also provide it with a potentially popular lead-in ("Big Brother"), something it lacked opening up on Thursdays.

In conclusion, I would have to disagree with the poster who expressed worry over "Race's" future. While "Race" has never been a hit along the lines of "Millionaire", "Survivor" or "American Idol", it has consistently provided an entertaining hour of television. Also, the series has (wisely) avoided the gross-out tasks of "Fear Factor" and (occasionally) "Survivor" to put itself above the fray and simlpy feature a race complicated by various tasks and jobs. (Also, as several have posted, I would have preferred Alison Irwin go a traditional route in being cast instead of possibly being forced on the producers). Here's hoping that TAR5 is the best season yet - both in action and ratings.

04-02-2004, 11:53 PM

Thearnon

Only 11 teams!! That sounds like something that was forced on the show by CBS. My thought is that CBS is trying to put the brakes on the production costs of the show a little bit by eliminating an entire leg of the show. I can't really see the production people wanting that change. I don't like this change at all, I was really happy with the 12 team format and it mean't an extra week of the best show on television.

I'm also not particularly thrilled with a 10:00 pm show time, that sounds a little late. However if TAR has the fan base of loyal supporters it might not hurt it that bad. Also in the letters that we wrote to CBS in pleading with them to keep the show, for those of us that wrote, I know one argument was about how TAR was going up against Friends in that 8:00 time slot on Thursday and that please couldn't they give it another chance in another time slot. I would have to say that CBS has met our request there even though I definetly would have preferred 9:00 to 10:00. Hey, at least we did get another season of TAR which the possibility of that looked pretty bleak not just too long ago.

Finally the "yeild" and the "money stripping" additions at first sounded crummy to me. But as I thought about it the money stripping idea did start to appeal to me a little bit. After all that last place team got really really lucky to still be in the race, by all rights on a normal leg they would have been going to sequesterville. This makes this team really work to overcome their failure on the previous leg to stay in the race, instead of just having to overcome a time differential which always happens because of the bunching. It had to be a little deflating for teams that finished better on the NEL rounds than the last place team only to see themseleves get eliminated the following week while the team that finished last the previous leg and should have been eliminated continue on. Now if that last place team moves on, they earned it. The "yeild" sounds interesting though I'm not sure how it will play out, the reference was a little vague but if teams can only use the strategy once in the race it could add an interesting dimension. I bet Millie and Chuck wish they could have had that available to them last season.

04-03-2004, 12:25 AM

Sonic-TARmaniac

i'd think the "yield" could only be used at a pit stop

maybe make a team later placed then them leave the pit stop 10-30 minutes later

04-03-2004, 12:43 AM

SonicAD

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thearnon

Only 11 teams!! That sounds like something that was forced on the show by CBS. My thought is that CBS is trying to put the brakes on the production costs of the show a little bit by eliminating an entire leg of the show. I can't really see the production people wanting that change. I don't like this change at all, I was really happy with the 12 team format and it mean't an extra week of the best show on television.

That wouldn't eliminate a leg. AR1 has 11 teams, and 13 legs in 13 episodes, AR2 had 11 teams and 13 legs in 11 episodes (2 two-hour eps), AR3 had 12 teams and 13 legs, again in 11 episodes, and AR4 had 12 teams and 13 legs in 13 episodes. I would suspect that there will still be 13 legs to the race.

04-03-2004, 01:12 AM

Apollonia

who had higher ratings last year BB or TAR?

Cause the lead in from BB can either be a good thing or a bad thing. Depends on how BB fares. If the show is not *good* the lead in for TAR might be detrimenal for the show.

I am *worried* abou the future of TAR, but not because the producers are out to make sure it dosn't succeed but because they're not doing more to get it to reach the high level of sucess it so deserves. It's by far the best reality show on tv and its just not getting the credit for it.

04-03-2004, 01:30 AM

LAGuy

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thearnon

Only 11 teams!! That sounds like something that was forced on the show by CBS. My thought is that CBS is trying to put the brakes on the production costs of the show a little bit by eliminating an entire leg of the show. I can't really see the production people wanting that change.

As SonicAD said, it may not eliminate a leg. They just add another Non-Elimination Leg to make up for having one less team.

That said, I'm sure it was a "cost-cutting" measure on CBS' part. One less team probably translates into tens of thousands of dollars saved in airfare alone. Factor in all the other savings (less lodging & food costs at the Pitstops, less vehicle rental costs on legs where they're given their own transportation, one less camera/soundman crew, one less team to keep in sequesterville, etc.) and we could be talking significant $$$.